Banishment to Heaven
by bringonthespam
Summary: Two cyber organisms from the desolate cesspool of Arkarus, Earth some millions of years in the future, are cast out of their home-world, ending up in the land of Equestria. Here, their mental wounds will heal in time. M for swearing and violence only.
1. Chapter 1

A/N - Before we begin, a few housekeeping things. For starters, a different "Captain of the Guard" is used here than Shining Armor. Sorry, this was written well before knowledge of Shining Armor had even come out, and the captain used here is more appropriate for the story's purpose than he would be (since he's not making anymore appearances after this and the next chapter...probably). Second, information about this "alternate world" will be introduced quite slowly, which is more my style of writing. I know a lot goes unexplained at first, and I welcome any questions regarding this world, but many answers will come out in due time, as the story progresses. Otherwise, this is my take, I suppose, on the HiE genre, which in this case is more like a CiE (Cyborg in Equestria). There is no shipping involved, and it's only "M" for "m"assive amounts of swearing (the cyborgs to each other mainly), and violence later on (which will typically be in the form of flashback). If this sounds like your bag, then I eagerly await your reactions. If not, that's fine too, but don't say I didn't write an extremely long-winded and possibly unnecessary author's note warning you. (Update) Turning chapter one here into two separate chapters for length's sake. (Another update) I'll have some basic answers to basic questions on my profile too, so I don't end up repeating myself too much.

* * *

A stale hum was all that could be heard in the large, domed execution chamber, despite the dozens of bodies inhabiting the stands with various feelings and sentiments etched into their stone-like faces. They were well safe from the center of the facility, where two lone convicts were spread out inside of two massive ring pods, cables binding their arms and legs and splaying them outwardly so that no movement, other than their heads, was possible. The spectators had known these two men very well, as they all shared cramped work spaces. These men would constantly be heard conspiring against Emperor Xargon, their undisputed ruler, caretaker, and tyrant, depending on interpretation. It seems like they were able to stir up some unexpected trouble for their computerized sovereign.

No one knew whether to call it a blessing or a curse that these upstarts would be, in a sense, executed for their crime. Life, as the Arkarans knew it, was little more than a waking nightmare. 800+ years of grueling labor and a brand of near-immortality that could make anyone long for death. The cyber organisms sitting in their seats, awaiting the first execution in known history, were curious, some outraged by their detainment, and others simply staring, as if they were devoid of opinion on the matter at all.

Bernard, one of the bound, scanned the crowd of onlookers who were considerate enough to see them off, as a comparatively scarce number of cyborgs seemed to give a shit about their predicament.

"So, Minos," Bernard enthusiastically grinned to his older companion with a shaking in his voice, "D...does this mean that we're gonna be able to die now?"

He couldn't contain the excitement he felt. At the tender age of 248, Bernard felt the same pain as most cyborgs he'd known. His will to live never truly existed and, in a bid to end the torment, went the extra mile to attempt to end it for the rest of his miserable brethren. It had been rumored that he who could defeat the emperor and gain ultimate control over the planet would gain the power to deactivate the entire network of cyborgs, thus freeing them all of the endless suffering. Unfortunately, here they were, failed and unable to make a difference in this crap-sack society.

"I don't know..." Minos sighed in defeat, "Do you even realize what's going to happen?"

Minos curiously half-glared at the high-strung man. Bernard could do nothing but squirm in his bonds while he guessed.

"...They're going to shut off our regulatory boxes, right?"

Minos wished he could put a hand up to his forehead, which was starting to take on a painful migraine at their situation.

"You fool! They would rather re-wire the damn things to force us to be loyal than waste their "resources" by discarding them!"

Minos took a calming second to recollect his thoughts so that he would have to explain the process they were about to be subjected to only once.

"Now, listen! The emperor has only been ruling for about 20 or so years now, and with the attack we instigated, more of our brothers and sisters are sounding the call to arms than they ever have. Xargon now has to use a public execution as a warning message to any who would dare cross him, or her, or whatever the fuck that computer's calling itself these days."

Bernard gave Minos an annoyed glance as if the older man was rehashing news that he already knew.

"Yes, that's what I'm talking about! They're going to kill us by deactivating the boxes!"

Minos hissed, "Quit being so absurd! You know how the cyborgs feel about dying. They long for it! It is the only thing they even live for, pathetically enough. Killing us wouldn't be a punishment, it would be absolute heaven!"

Just the thought of death eased the older cyborg's senses, and he spoke the last words lovingly, as if it were everything to him. Bernard shook his arms in his bindings a little with exasperation.

"Well, what in Arkarus are they planning to do to us then, oh One-who-knows-all?"

Minos quickly intervened and kept on with his explanation.

"Look, you see the rings they have us bound to?"

Bernard took a sarcastically experimental look in his area. Indeed, as he had already known, he was tied up with no way out.

"Yeah, what else is new?"

"Okay, look in front of us. You see that gigantic ring there, similar to ours, but, like, a million times bigger?"

Bernard still wasn't sure what he was getting at here.

"Uh huh, so what?"

"That, my friend, is what is called a dimensional rift. Pretty soon, the emperor will be opening this incredibly powerful portal that will draw us in. Where it leads to, even our top scientists don't have any idea. The only thing they know is that it gets rid of the trash, us for example, and it never comes back."

The young man was even more excited about this turn of events.

"That's great! That means we get to leave this shitty dump, and can start fresh someplace else!"

Minos was typically of the mild-mannered sort, but being assaulted by Bernard's ignorance made it a chore not to smack him upside the head, at least if he could do so now.

"Think about it, Bernard, it's even more likely that where we end up will be even more horrible than it is here. The most likely, unfortunately, is that for the centuries we have remaining in these boxes," he gestured down to his chest, "we will float in the black expanse of the universe, aimless, motionless, and trapped in silent agony."

All of this talk about there being places possibly worse than this crap-hole made Bernard gulp in terror. Suddenly, the prospect of escape and his opinions of Arkarus began to reverse.

"No, no, that's so messed up, man! Can't we ever catch a damn break? I don't want to be stranded for my whole life!"

His bravado from before had been broken, and Minos was starting to feel the least bit sorry for the poor bastard. He felt like a big brother, watching his sibling crumble mentally.

"Steel yourself, Bernard! It is not what we are doomed to that matters! What does matter is that our friends out there have had a taste of what it is like to not be afraid of their master, and to strive to accomplish something that drives them, which to me is the most admirable goal any of us can achieve!"

A sudden burst of compressing and decompressing air, followed by alternating high and low pitched screeches signaled to all in the great chamber that their emperor, Xargon, was going to make an announcement over the intercom. Few had seen the face of the tyrant, save for the two criminals in their harnesses, and all communications from the emperor are done strictly through said medium. A crackling, sharp, metallic voice began to ring through their ears.

"ATTENTION: IT IS BROUGHT TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF YOUR SAVIOR THAT TWO CYBER ORGANISMS HAVE BROKEN THE COMMANDS BY WHICH ALL OF YOU ARE GIVEN THE PRIVILEGE TO FOLLOW! THEREFORE, THEY SHALL BE CAST OUT INTO THE ABYSS OF SPACE, WHERE THEY WILL UNDOUBTEDLY BEG FOR A SWIFT DEMISE!"

A stunned, pensive silence broke out among the cyborgs. Bernard took another hot gulp while Minos was starting to breathe a little heavier with his own burst of fear.

"IF THE PERPETRATORS HAVE ANY LAST WORDS, THEN BY ALL MEANS, THIS IS YOUR CHANCE!"

The crowd laid their eyes upon the pitiable suspects, strapped helplessly into their restraints. Minos gave a pointed look toward his long time friend, encouraging him to speak his mind. Bernard took this as his cue and drew in the longest breath he could. Tense throbs wracked the body of the younger man as he spoke up.

"Xargon, you can go crawl into the deepest pits of Arkarus and rot into a pile of circuit boards and wires for all I give a shit!"

"THAT WILL BE ENOUGH OUT OF YOU THEN! NOW, THE SECOND?"

Minos had trouble finding the words, being so close to the great unknown and a possible eternal torture. He thought back to all of the horrors he had witnessed as a younger cyborg, having nearly been eaten by a necrobyte when he was but 30 years old; how he developed heightened emotional sensitivity because of that and many incidents leading up to the present; how the previous emperor had even tried to free the cyborgs from their labors, and failed. He knew what he had to say.

"My brothers and sisters," he paused as they listened on, "you and I were thrown into a world which we did not choose to be a part of. The only states that this world ever constantly seems to be in are violence, apathy, and rage. As you all know, I have been involved heavily in freeing the Arkarus cyborgs from this nightmare we call life, and it has been an uphill battle on all fronts. I have broken commands and made many enemies in this quest, assisting in the capture and killing of that psychotic cult leader who wished to make it so that our collective turmoil would last for eternity, and more recently, attempting assassination on the current emperor, a feat which they boasted never has and never will succeed. I have done all of these things for you, fellow workers."

Minos paused to catch his breath, starting to sweat under the scorching light assaulting their bodies as they were displayed. Not a soul stirred in the audience, as was typical for any old meeting.

"I implore each and every one of you, not to spare my wretched life, but to look deep inside of yourselves and ask, "What is it that I want?" We have all established, to death, what it is our emperor wants, but what is it that you, my brethren, desire? Remember this before I go, you have the power to stop this madness! If even only one of you listens to me here and now, and acts on that statement alone, then I can leave this world a more confident man, knowing that I leave this planet in more capable hands than my own!"

The dull humming, energy gathering into the dimensional rift, was, once again, the only sound that could be heard after Minos' voice stopped reverberating.

"...NOW THESE VIGILANTES SHALL RESIGN TO A FATE WORSE THAN ALL IMAGINABLE! LET THIS BE A TESTAMENT TO THIS NEW AGE, ITS MESSAGE BEHELD IN PERFECT CLARITY, THAT ALL WHO OPPOSE YOUR SAVIOR WILL SUFFER INDEFINITELY!"

An unholy wind cascaded through the monumental ring, wrapping the clasped convicts in a blanket of life-stealing suction. White sparks trickled from top to bottom down the center as the fabric of space was snipped, and the vast expanse held within became increasingly visible.

"Gaaaaaaah!" Minos was the first to scream out as his bound wrists and ankles began to tear at the seams, little more than putty compared to the mega-typhoon level torrent of rushing air. Even at this stage of the opening, the vacuum they were caught in was horrendously strong.

"Eck...errrrgh!" the man next to Minos could hardly contain his own howls of pain as a similar sensation ripped through his arms and legs.

The oval that was starting to form in the portal made the very cosmos visible to the unbelieving eyes of its victims, far away stars and planets dancing among comets and asteroids in an unstable yet somehow balanced system.

"Fuck, it hurts so damn much!"

"Remember, Bernard, your regulatory box will mend your wounds and grow your limbs back quickly, this is their way of punishing us further, by making the trip as painful as possible!"

The older cyborg could hardly grit the words out as he felt bones start to shatter in most of his body. The turbulence was picking up, as impossible as that may have seemed a few moments ago.

"Well...(crack)...at least...we went down...fighting!"

Bernard gave Minos one more look to make sure he was still over in his own pod. Minos answered his companion's audacious comment.

"Couldn't...(crrrulp)...have...said it...better...myself!"

Finally, tiny hints of emotion, and possible empathy, could be noticed in the participants in the stands, watching the entire event unfold before their very eyes. The rift was now at full mast, and many swore that the eye of a demon was a more appropriate simile for its terrifying visage. The lights surrounding the patrons were swaying and flickering madly, unstable in the incredible energy storm brewing at the center of the chamber.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Finally, the two criminals' arms and legs were not strong enough to hold intact, snapping apart like toys with a disgusting squelch, tossing their now limbless (but not lifeless) bodies into the vortex, screeching like banshees into their new home, one that they could only guess would be more than likely to rival their own hellish planet.

* * *

The lovely, vibrant land of Equestria; ponies of all shapes, sizes, and types were fortunate to inhabit such a wonderfully lush planet, with its multitude of colors, sights, sounds, and smells. Though every world has problems, as the citizens of this fair planet could attest to, some would say that their general situation is...idyllic, in a way.

With a pair of all-loving, infinitely understanding rulers, nopony saw rhyme or reason in rebellion, in fact, just the thought of such a thing would leave a cloud of undeniable guilt hanging over one's head. Since the citizens loved their princesses so much, especially in this day and age, their own royal guards, as intimidating as they could be, had become little more than escorts, custodians, and watch dogs for a world with a fairly minimal crime rate.

Such was the case of four of these royal pegasus guards, spending their time helping elderly ponies cross the streets of Canterlot, or taking up police duty, stepping into various stores and shops, only to realize, bored to tears, that heinous crimes are a thing of the past. Well, might be a thing of the past...no one could even remember hearing of one in a long time. The four would sigh inwardly while standing at attention on the city streets, wishing that something more interesting would fall right out of the sky and land in the forests below the mountain.

"Oh my..." a fancy looking unicorn pony looked up through his monocle from his position, mere feet from the four guards, posted on both sides of the street, "...it seems to me as if some sort of...objects...are floating toward that forest on the mountainside! Hmm...I wonder what they could be..."

Hot damn! That was just what these four, tired out guards had been hoping for all day! Two of them all but gleefully sprinted with a few appreciative bounces in the direction of the crash landing while one ran with a little less vigor. The fourth, Captain Broadlance, enthusiastically but politely ran up and motioned to the unicorn with his hoof.

"Sir, we'll handle this from here!"

The unicorn seemed a little put off and uneasy at the captain's brisk response.

"Oh, well then good luck, Captain."

The captain flew to catch up with his subordinates. They weren't going to take all of the fun for themselves while he was around, no sir! By the time he had sped up to get behind them all, they had unleashed their wings as well to dive over the cliff that the great city sat upon. They were all anxious to get a better view of what exactly had touched down just moments ago.

"I'll bet it's a nice little care package, courtesy of the Military Mares organization, they're so freakin' hot!" Hotshot, a cadet, swooned as he thought of all those cute fillies who supported the troops.

"No, I bet it'll be a dragon that got attacked by some of its own kind, vulgar beasts!" Morning Whisper sneered at the very thought.

"...I'll bet it's nothing at all..." Buzzkill droned monotonously, no mirth apparent in his eyes.

"Knock it off over there, soldiers! This ain't no sewing circle, so quit squawkin' and do your jobs!"

The last response was from the captain himself, tired of his ragtag crew socializing like they were at some cheap bar.

"Oh come on, Captain," Hotshot flew closer to the stern old warrior, "Surely you must be just as curious about what's going on down there as we are!"

If there was any excitement in their veteran mentor's actions, he had a poker face that could trick a mob boss out of all his money. He shifted uncomfortably at Hotshot's interrogating stare.

"Well, what do you think, cadet? This is the most action we've had all month! Of course I want to know!"

With that, Broadlance zoomed ahead of the pack, leaving the scrubs to eat his proverbial dust.

"Let's catch up to him!" Morning Whisper all but ordered his same-ranked comrades.

"Whatever..." Buzzkill sighed submissively.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, when did YOU start giving the orders around here, Whisper?"

Hotshot looked poised to start pounding on the pushy pegasus if he didn't cut it out.

"Back off, Rookie, or I'll..."

"You'll...what exactly?"

Buzzkill lagged behind as the two unsupervised punks started getting into a slap fight of sissy proportions.

"...Nothing good ever comes from fighting...but whatever..."

The three slower pegasi had touched down into the forest clearing, only to see a confused, horrified look on Broadlance's usually so strong and brave face.

"Geez, Captain," Hotshot called to him, "You look like you just saw your grandma in sexy lingerie!"

The trio mewled in disgust, even Buzzkill with a monotone, "...ew...".

"Wh...wh...wh...what in the name of the holy, royal sisters are those things?"

Broadlance pointed a hoof, as if to guide his soldiers' attention, to the two, grotesque beings, writhing on the ground, not but ten feet away.

"I don't understand, Captain," Whisper respectfully started, "what could be so... OOOUUUAAAAGH?"

Hotshot stared in disbelief for a moment before his more immature side surfaced yet again.

"Eeeew...that's so gross, man! Look at them wriggling around like that!" He laughed disgustedly.

Buzzkill didn't seem to physically register that anything was bothering him by the display, but he nevertheless commented.

"They're...hairless..., those...weird limbs..."

One of the creatures had a face that could, in pony terms, be considered very pointed. His jaw and nose were fairly prominent, with a shouting maw filled with sharp, white teeth. A black...mane?...dangled down to the pointed knobs on his body; some kind of shoulders...perhaps? There was a tuft of fur growing under his mouth as well. He seemed frail and malnourished through the odd, light blue shirt and pants adorning his body. He was also of a liberally tanned skin, or it could have just been his natural color.

The second one, looking as monochromatic in the same light blue outfit and looking nearly as malnourished as the first, had a more brown and much shorter mane, barely escaping past the top of what could only be construed as his head and monkey-like ears. He had a pale complexion and body, from what was gathered by his limbs, and his face was much less pointed, almost a little smashed up against him, by comparison.

Both, however, had the strangest forelegs and back legs that anypony had ever seen. The forelegs sprouted tentacle-like appendages, squirming in time with their thrashing. The back legs seemed less so, although their knee joints were twisted around, bending forward instead of backward.

Broadlance just stared at the two creepy beings in front of them, they were screeching something in an unusual language, one that he had never heard before in all of his years of service. The four ponies just stood, rather slack-jawed, watching in queasy curiosity as they struggled against each other helplessly.

* * *

"...Has the end finally come?..."

Minos' vision had faded to black as he shut his eyes as tightly as possible, never wanting to subject his mind to the untold horrors that would greet him on the other side of the portal. For moments on end, a cold, hollow silence was the extent of his hearing, and his entire body felt light as a feather. In fact, he couldn't really feel much at all, as the atmosphere he had come to rely on was wrenched from him mercilessly. Soon, he had his answer, as his breathing, while laborious, continued on.

"No...unfortunately...not yet..."

His eyelids still blocked the vision in his eyes, but a shade of red became visible, as if there was some kind of light attempting to invade his retinas. He tried to speak out to the one he called "Bernard", if he remembered right. It felt like an eternity had passed as his mind started to fry with the fear of impending, infinite torture.

"Bernard...BERNARD...are you there?"

It took a minute for his face muscles to do his bidding, as they refused to do anything for a short while, apprehensive of the alien wind and its effects on his body. He hadn't expected an answer, as he had surmised that he was long gone, cast off into another section of space, or another dimension entirely.

"Yeah...I'm here! You still there Minos, or am I finally going insane?"

"No, you're not, I'm probably right next to you, as miraculous as that sounds."

Bernard was curled up in a similar position, dread filling every pore of his body, clamping his eyes shut and taking a few seconds to get a grip on the fact that he wasn't dead. Also, that he was resting against some sort of ground, and not floating in the nearly non-existent gravity of space. Minos started up again, surprised that he was so relieved to have someone to talk to in his exile.

"...It's so warm here...by the emperor, I think I'm roasting!"

Bernard had a similar sentiment to convey to his long time companion.

"Shit man, you're right! It's like we're in a damn volcano or something!"

A dreadful possibility flashed through the older cyborg's mind as he became more cognitively aware.

"Oh no! I think we might be in the path of a supernova!"

Panic overtook the brown haired man as the thought of taking the full impact of a supernova was a pretty high promise of excruciating misery, and with the nigh-indestructible regulatory boxes in their middles, they might live through it to feel it all.

"What," Bernard started to get scared himself, "a supernova? You've gotta be kidding me, you lousy bastard! You can't be serious!"

"Don't open your eyes, Bernard! Just keep them shut tight!"

"Why? They'll just grow back again anyway!"

Minos was thrashing around at this point with increasing dread.

"Well then you can watch as our bodies are fried to a crisp! I'd rather not look upon it myself, and my eyeballs will be gone long before I'm subjected to it!"

Whenever Minos got scared about something, Bernard was typically not very far behind. He trusted his senior more than most of the cyborgs he'd known, and if he was freaked out by this, then it must not be good for either of them.

"Alright, alright, I'll keep them shut! Oh, crap, this is going to hurt!"

Bernard and Minos began to struggle against each other as the heat seemed to intensify between them.

"Here it comes! Shit, we're so screwed! Farewell, Bernard! I am proud to have called you my ally!"

* * *

"What in the blazes are those two talking about?" Broadlance watched as they struggled, "Morning Whisper, this is beyond my jurisdiction now. We need to summon the princesses to command us on what actions we must take. Gather some more guards and escort them both to this very spot!"

Whisper made a wing salute to his captain in a show of confirmation.

"Yes, Captain, I will return as soon as possible!"

He steadied himself and his wings, tearing his eyes away from the positively callous sight before him, and took off toward the palace to alert the princesses of Equestria as to the appearance of these...aliens...

"So," Hotshot went up to Broadlance and mumbled in his ear as they crept ever closer, "do you think we should, you know, go over and try to calm them down? They look like they're in some kind of fear or pain."

"Nonsense, cadet," the veteran shot back with a gasp, "that would be a risk that I cannot take, and you shouldn't either."

As the sound left their mouths, Broadlance noticed the one with the long, black mane freeze in place like he turned to stone. He and Hotshot jumped back a foot, readying themselves for a fight if necessary. It kept on communicating with its big friend.

"Uh...Minos...shouldn't there be, I don't know, like, some kind of deafening noise coming toward us if there really is a supernova?"

Minos also ended up freezing his movements, earning another accusatory stare from the two guards.

"That's true, I can hear you, so sound should accompany pretty much everything happening here, in theory."

Bernard turned to his left, where all of his companion's ramblings seemed to be coming from.

"All I know is that I just heard two other voices, and neither of them were yours."

It was Minos' turn to be disbelieving.

"I don't hear anything. You must be imagining things, Bernard! Quit fucking with me!"

"Oh, don't trust me? Open your eyes then and take a look!"

Minos almost laughed at his friend's absurdity, a reaction that is not often seen in their world.

"Oh no you don't! The minute I look out, I'll be swallowed by a 100 trillion kilometer mass of cosmic energy! You open YOUR eyes if you're so confident in your story!"

The long haired man was getting more angry by the minute.

"Man, just do it! Quit being so stubborn all of the time!"

"Oh, I'M the one who's stubborn? I'm not the one who was nearly reprogrammed after beating a chief facility operator to within an inch of his life because he wanted to get an extra hour off the line to sleep. I saved your ass that day when I told them I'd vouch for your loyalty from there on out!"

Bernard was pretty furious at this point.

"You know how hard it is to get some rest there! They would rather have us work constantly, without it, for our entire lives, all so that their "quotas" are met on an asshole-tight schedule!"

Minos put a hand up in defeat, not wanting to rile him up more than he already had.

"Alright, relax Bernard! Fine, if you think it's SO safe out here, then I'll open mine first, and when you hear my screams of agony, we'll see who's the most full of shit!"

If Minos wasn't so spooked by the thought of facing a supernova head on, he might have even made a smile at how ridiculous Bernard could be. As it was right at the moment, he was terrified to even so much as peek. However, he had promised the guy that he would volunteer, so there were no ways out of it.

"Well, here goes..."

He lifted his eyelids ever so slightly, a bright, blinding heat was all he could register. There were no sources of light this bright on Arkarus, being a dark, desolate world with little natural heat or luminescence. It was incredibly annoying at first, and he could hardly pry them apart before recoiling. Soon, however, his body went upright and his eyes were wide open, beholding a planet rich in color and life, or at least what seemed like life, as foreign and long forgotten waves of vegetation rolled in the light breeze. It was an unusual sight, but, somehow, it was calming, comforting, one might even use the term...pleasant.

Minos was shaken out of his admiring state when three figures approached him. It took a few minutes for the realization to hit that these absolutely horrid-looking creatures, four arms or legs, craned, distorted necks, protruding growths from their backsides, and wide, freaky eyes were looking ready to strike them indiscriminately.

"AAAAAAAAAH!"

"Whoa, what's going on with it?" Hotshot asked fearfully as Minos shouted for his very life.

"Oh no, Minos was right, there really is a supernova coming this way!" Bernard remorsefully bemoaned.

Broadlance, Hotshot, and Buzzkill stood fast, not wanting to get caught off guard just in case there was an incident.

"Ow...my ears..." Buzzkill complained with his typical mood-killing words.

"You call this SAFE?" Minos looked over to his right to find Bernard laying in the grass, eyes still closed. He took hold the man's shoulders and threw him upright.

"LOOK!"

Bernard didn't know what was going on, but it seemed as if Minos wasn't getting his flesh torn off, so Bernard made the painful decision to try to open his own eyelids as well. As with his companion, it took some time, but the first thing he finally did see was Captain Broadlance, looking as monstrous and hostile as Minos feared.

"AAAAAAAAAH!"

"Good heavens, what's wrong with these two?" Broadlance quipped with hurting ears.

A/N - Chapter 2 will actually be the second half of chapter 1, which will explain the bad end point. Thanks.


	2. Chapter 1 Part 2

A/N - Anybody who has been reading up to this point, I would like to remind them that I will be happy to answer any questions if there is confusion about these two or their world. It can be hard to enjoy a story if not many things get brought out at first, but this was the way I intended to write the story. Just holler if you need some elaboration on something, thanks.

* * *

The cyborgs shifted backward on their hands and feet, putting as much practical distance between them and these four-legged freaks as they could muster. With rapid, shallow breaths, their eyes were glued to them, making sure they weren't moving closer, and sitting as still as statues in the hopes that they would go away eventually.

"Don't make any sudden moves, Bernard. Maybe they'll leave us alone in a few minutes."

Unfortunately, it seemed as if all of their shouting before had stirred up a hornet's nest, as Bernard looked up into the sky, noticing a wave of similarly formed creatures soaring ever closer.

"Oh crap, Minos, look, there's more of them! We must've alerted the rest of the hive!"

Minos traced his partner's gaze into the incredibly bright, azure sky, a despair-struck scrunch distorting his features.

"...It IS as bad as the emperor said it would be. This doesn't look very good."

The suspects in question were actually the returned Morning Whisper, an entourage of six more guards, and in the center of their protective circle, the two princesses of Equestria, floating curiously toward the scene that the cadet claimed was happening even as they spoke.

"I see something going on down there. Is this where you were wanting to bring us, Morning Whisper?" Princess Celestia asked the guard for confirmation.

"Um...yes, Your Majesty, right in that little clearing. The two monsters are quite...unique, though I'd probably use the term "grotesque" myself."

Celestia tutted her guard, "Oh come now, Whisper, that's a little insensitive, don't you believe?"

Whisper felt a wave of nausea as he remembered the nasty looks on their faces, but replied to his princess in a formal manner.

"Perhaps, Your Majesty, though I implore you to take a closer look for yourself. They are certainly not of this world by any stretch of the imagination."

The guards tightened their protective ring around the princesses as they approached the treeless area. Broadlance and Hotshot looked positively relieved to have a surplus of troops on hoof, as well as the princesses themselves.

"Oh, excellent, they've arrived, and quicker than we thought." Broadlance mumbled under his breath.

The guards landed with trained, precise stomps on the forest floor. Celestia and Luna, however, took one glance at the two former criminals a few yards off and nearly tripped on themselves. Luckily, they regained their composure swiftly as they also touched down, making graceful, quiet hoof-steps.

"My word, Celestia," Luna looked to her sister to make sure she wasn't the only one with a surprised look, "what could these...things...possibly be?"

Minos gasped again as the larger, more colorful versions of the unknown species started a slow walk toward them.

"Uh oh, those must be their leaders. Looks like they've come to feed on us before the others can have a go."

Bernard said nothing back as his lip was trembling, fighting the urge to move excessively while wanting to run away.

After what seemed like ages, even to the long-lived men on the ground, the princesses had walked up until they were mere feet from them.

"Careful, Princesses, they might be dangerous!" Broadlance half-shouted gingerly not wanting to further aggravate the tense-looking beings.

Celestia, being careful to heed his words, replied back, "I think we'll be okay, they just look scared is all."

The guards subconsciously inched ever closer to the rulers, ready to protect them on a moment's notice. Eventually, Luna was the first one to attempt contact with the foreigners.

"G-good afternoon, friends, I am Princess Luna of Equestria. How shall I address you both?"

The men looked at each other incredulously, it was trying to speak with them, but all that seemed to come out was a mush of syllables and indecipherable syntax.

"It's trying to communicate with us, Minos! What are we supposed to do now?"

Inversely, Celestia and Luna gave each other puzzled looks when the long-maned one softly murmured to the pale being in a language that they had never heard in their incredibly long lives.

"Take it easy, Bernard," Minos soothed his panicked friend, "The RBs have a function in them..."

"Oh, right," Bernard interrupted, "if we can get just a bit closer, we could put their voices through the language database and see if there's anything close to one of ours, so we can emulate it!"

"So...," Minos continued, "you want to be the one to do it?"

Bernard was repulsed.

"I'll get my arm bitten off if I do that!"

"Well, it wouldn't be any different than what just happened a while ago!"

The princesses began to question if these two would even be capable of communicating with them, that is until the darker skinned one started shifting on his weird legs, pushing himself forward very carefully.

In an instant, three pegasus guards stormed to the front, shielding Celestia and Luna as the lengthy arm of the intruder extended to them.

"Get that thing away from the princesses, you freak!"

Bernard took his arm back, sensing the heightened hostility. That one statement was all he needed to relay the information to his internal database, cycling through the 300 languages existing on Arkarus. Minos and Bernard spoke in what they knew as "Standard Arkaran Dialect", the most prominent on their planet, which was nowhere close to anything these aliens were speaking. The gears in Bernard's box kept turning and turning as language files were rendered unneeded, and new ones were called to the forefront.

Eventually, the search came to an end, the program settling on a tongue that was all but extinct on their planet.

"Oh...wow," the darker man pondered, "it looks like the database decided that this sounds the most like...English..."

Minos squawked in disbelief, "That language was only spoken by...what...like 1,000 people? It's only so fortunate that we were some of the last cyborgs programmed with it, since it's practically dead!"

Meanwhile, the guards had eased up a fraction since it seemed as if they were out of harm's way, momentarily. The one with the long mane was buzzing slightly, like a bee, if their eyes weren't fooling them. Soon, the two talked amongst each other again, while the lighter-skinned man started vibrating a tiny bit.

They watched, spooked, as Minos' head turned abruptly over to them, Celestia, and Luna. He rose from his seated position on the ground, drawing more ire from the winged sentries. He was fairly tall, almost eye to eye with Celestia herself, and she was no small pony. He opened his mouth slowly as if to gather attention that he hoped would be received well.

"...H...hello...four-legged ones. My serial designation is 4350077816. My chosen name is Minos. I am pleased to meet you, and I bear no ill will to you or your kind."

A pretty awkward language, to say the least; Minos had some minor troubles flexing his tongue the way he wanted, probably giving off a bit of a foreign accent in the process, but he hoped that the creatures understood well enough to register what he was trying to say.

Celestia and Luna were overjoyed by this turn of events. It was a one in a million chance that unfamiliar beings would be able to speak their own language so well, if with a few small, yet slightly endearing, errors. Luna spoke up first, having been the first to speak before.

"I thank you, creature! As I was mentioning before, I am Princess Luna of Equestria, the very land that you stand upon right now."

Luna gave Minos a courteous, if short, bow to show her welcoming. Minos stood by politely as she came back up before he spoke again.

"Princess...I am...unfamiliar with that designation. Is it some sort of position of authority?"

Celestia decided to cut in here, eager to get to know these creepy looking, yet interesting, beings.

"The highest in the land, in fact, my good two-legged friend. I am also a princess of Equestria, and you may address me as Princess Celestia of the same land. Please indulge us, who might your companion be?"

Minos gave a brisk look in Bernard's direction. Hearing about the obvious amount of power these two had in this country triggered the fear and respect mechanisms in the older cyborg's brain. He sharply quipped at the man lying on the ground, reverting back to Arkaran.

"Well, don't just sit there, Bernard. You know the drill, introduce yourself."

The long-haired man stood up slowly, eyes still fixated in some chill to these "princesses" who had just told them their names. Warming his own mouth up, he began to enunciate.

"My...my...serial designation is 7884133925. However, my chosen name is Bernard. I am honored to be in the presence of the...emperors of this land."

Luna's brow delicately furrowed in confusion.

"If I may be so forward, what is this...serial designation and the numbers you two have?"

Minos and Bernard shot baffled stares at each other. These creatures had no designation? For them, it was as elementary as breathing. Though, they had to admit, they had no idea exactly what these beings knew about them or their world. They were cast out into the abyss of space not but an hour or so ago, after all.

"How can I put this..." Minos began, being the one more familiar with cyborg origins, "When we were created, we were given these numbers by the emperor, like all cyber organisms. That is our serial designation, to keep track of who's who, essentially. However, it is common practice for us to shorten and personalize our names, for the sake of communicating and to build a sense of cohesion in our work spaces. Those, my princesses, are our chosen names, ones that we give ourselves."

"This...emperor..." Celestia asked, gaining further questions as he spoke to them, "He or she is your leader, am I correct?"

Minos continued uncomfortably, "Well, not "he" or "she", per say. "It" would probably be a more accurate interpretation, as the emperors have, almost exclusively, been little more than sentient computers, devices that have thoughts and feelings, but are made up of metal wires, chips, and various externally powered components, such as the things we made in our factory."

The co-rulers could hardly contain their confusion. They didn't want to be rude or pushy, but this was getting just a little bit too out of the ordinary for either one of them. Luna experimentally shifted closer to what these beings had called themselves...cyber organisms.

"I am curious, what is a "cyber organism", as you have put it?"

The guards were still a little cautious, but it seemed as if the monsters would be harmless, as they had just spoken in Equestrian and showed their intentions to be non-hostile. Minos and Bernard felt much more the same way, and began to relax into a frustrating yet intriguing little question and answer session between the four of them. Minos seemed both pleased to be a part of it and grateful for the princesses mercy enough, but as time went on, Bernard started getting a little suspicious of these "ponies", not only for their motives for conversing with them, but also their intent for them after all was said and done. Minos was an optimistic man in some ways, a rare type in their world, and he wanted to embrace these new beings with open arms. Most cyborgs, on the other hand, including Bernard, were prone to anger, violence, distrusting, seeing bad in most things. His gaze turned icy as he intervened.

"...What do you plan on doing with us after we're done here?..."

It was a question completely out of the blue from the darker man to either princess. Minos was affronted by the accusation in his voice toward these civil, wonderful "ponies". He promptly back-handed Bernard in the face, shouting once again in Arkaran, to the shock and discomfort of Celestia and Luna.

"How dare you ask something so accusing of the princesses! They have been nothing but gracious to us from the very beginning!"

"Please...it isn't a problem, Minos." Celestia didn't want them to fight about the question, even if it was laced with an interrogating aura. They couldn't understand what was going on, since they didn't know the language, but Bernard had just grabbed Minos forcefully, as if to strike him back.

"You're way too soft for your own good! What makes you think they aren't just going to force us into slave labor, like where we just got out of, or stab us in the backs and try to consume our flesh?"

Luna was disturbed by the sudden outbursts herself, "Are you two going to be alright?"

Minos freed himself from Bernard's grasp quickly and answered.

"Please forgive us, Princesses. This is, unfortunately, the way we solve many conflicts where we come from, with a lot of violence. This is why I was trying to change our world, and make it so that these problems became things of the past."

Celestia and Luna nodded slightly in half understanding as the pale cyborg rambled on to his junior.

"Look, Bernard, why can't you just give them a chance? This is a new world, and a new life for us. We can't just go around making enemies with everything we meet!"

Bernard snorted, annoyed with his older companion's desire for friendship, "Hmph...I gave our last emperor a chance when he tried to deactivate the cyborg matrix, and look at how that ended up!"

Minos took a second to sigh brokenly as he recollected on the very same memory. Looking up and giving the white and blue "alicorns" a hopefully calming gaze, he rephrased Bernard's question in a less intimidating fashion.

"What my young, impetuous compatriot here meant to say was," Minos gestured with his arms around the clearing, "these lands and your ponies are very unfamiliar to us. We simply ask for reassurance that our being here is not a burden to anyone, that we have not offended you or the country for our arrival."

"Well...I have to admit that it stirred up quite a ruckus at the palace." Celestia apologetically informed the two men in front or her, which earned uneasy, wandering eyes from them, "However, I will personally guarantee you both that so long as you do no harm to the inhabitants of this land, we, as the princesses, will allow you to make any life for yourselves as you deem comfortable. Isn't that right, Luna?"

Luna heeded her sister's words, staring down the cyborgs with a cool, discerning eye before turning her head slightly back, grunting lightly in affirmation.

"I suppose that it would be the just way to handle the situation..."

Celestia noticed that something was still bothering Minos as he gave more reprimanding looks to the younger man.

"Your question was completely within reason, good sirs. There is no need to feel bad about that. In fact, I think Bernard's forward approach is quite liberating, compared to the frightened reverence we receive on a constant basis."

That's a new one. Back on Arkarus, any form of dissent would be met with a swift, strict punishment. Cyborgs had even been painfully reprogrammed for being less feisty toward the emperor or its loyal subordinates. The men visibly relaxed a little as Celestia encouraged their curiosity.

"Come sister, we have many more duties to attend to today than standing around talking to otherworldly "cyborgs"."

Luna had noticed that the sun was sinking a little lower, and while she was typically asleep at this time, she would have things to do soon anyway, and so did Celestia.

"Oh my, look at that, it is time to be off!" Celestia became suddenly aware of the time slippage, readying herself to call upon the guards for their escort back home. She turned back to the newcomers, a conflicted gaze in her features as she realized something else. If anypony else saw these two roaming about, unaccompanied, there could be panic and possible resistance to them being there.

"...I almost forgot, my good men," Celestia uttered after a short few seconds of deliberation, "I may have to take back a little of what I said about being free to go wherever you wish..."

"You see, Minos," Bernard hissed to his elder, "I told you they weren't going to be satisfied with letting us to ourselves! Now we're really in for it!"

Celestia continued after Minos' muddy green eyes grew slightly at whatever Bernard was relaying to him, "It would possibly be uncomfortable for you two if anypony saw you without an escort. Therefore, I would like to offer an invitation to stay at one of the rooms in the palace for the time being, only if you want to. I will not force you either way, but not everypony is as open-minded about unfamiliar things, and I don't want to see you two unduly troubled."

The goateed young man grasped Minos by his upper arms and pleaded with him, "No, don't go with them, Minos, it's a trap!"

Minos shrugged forcefully to keep the harried cyborg at a distance. He turned back to these princesses that had inadvertently charmed their way into his favor.

"We would be most appreciative of your hospitality, Princess. Please, lead the way, and we will follow."

Celestia and Luna noticed that Bernard seemed less than thrilled with the idea, as he dramatically huffed with his arms crossed, mumbling something under his breath, directed at Minos. They still didn't know what had irked him so, as they spoke in this..."Standard Arkaran Dialect" to each other. The white mare trotted somewhat closer to Bernard as she had a feeling that whatever he was distressed over had something to do with her offer.

"Please Bernard," she tried to comfort the high-strung cyborg by locking her gaze into his crystal blue eyes, "I realize that you may not completely trust us yet, but won't you just give Equestria this one chance?"

Bernard's brow knitted into a frown as he tried to uncover any subtle hint of insincerity in the pony's soft, magenta irises. It was only too bad he wasn't a more emotionally intuitive man, as he found no indication of ill-intent anywhere in her mannerisms. With loosening brows and a light raspberry coming from his lips, he continued to all of them in Equestrian/English.

"If I end up as another factory slave, a scientific experiment, or a pony meal, I'm blaming you for everything, Minos!"

Celestia nervously chuckled at the ambiguous statement, while Luna seemed absolutely appalled at the idea of feasting upon something so...unappetizing, and inedible to boot. Minos, however, seemed to lighten up at the comment, some sort of agreement being met silently between the two.

"Well, Princess, that's about the best response one can get out of Bernard. We'd both be delighted to accompany you!"

"Excellent," the alicorn was hurrying, yet glad Bernard finally conceded, "We must be off immediately though, so let us return."

Luna turned to her sister with a wary crinkle in her face, whispering out of the cyborgs' earshot, "I certainly hope that you know what you are involving us in, Celestia. We do not have the ability to keep these two in the palace indefinitely."

Celestia rolled her eyes at her sister's own wariness, "Yes, I am well aware of that, Luna. That's why we will only put them up for a few days while we find a suitable area to settle them into."

Luna seemed further incensed by her sister's dangerous curiosity of these beings, but didn't act on the impulse to voice her concerns. What if they were secretly criminal masterminds who wished nothing but to usurp the throne for themselves? They seemed innocent enough at first glance, but Luna had learned in her own time that not all who seem harmless ARE so.

Celestia unfurled her large, majestic wings, calling to the guard ponies still on standby to prepare for the trip back.

"Oh I'm sorry," she motioned to the two yet again, "I forgot that you both have no wings. You may choose a guard from the ranks to carry you to our palace, if that is acceptable to you."

The two cyborgs followed the princesses with cautious steps, not wanting anymore incidents to happen today.

"That will be just fine, Princess Celestia," Minos assured her as he took a gander at the various guards, trying to look as tiny as possible so that they would not be picked for the grueling task of hoisting these heavy and potentially dangerous men to the castle.

Buzzkill was immediately volunteered by the rest of them to carry Bernard, the more sinister looking of the two, to which Buzzkill simply huffed and gave in with no resistance whatsoever.

"Might as well hop on..." the dry pegasus gestured to Bernard.

"Oh...um...well...thanks..." the tanned cyborg said, confused as to how exactly riding on these ponies was supposed to work. Then again, as he lifted one leg over the creature, and planted his rump into his back, the general situation was conveniently comfortable, at least for him.

While a little afraid of being physically disabled for the rest of his life from this, Hotshot gave the other man a wing up in his direction, seeing that everypony else was either too important (the princesses and Captain Broadlance), or too chicken to give him a ride themselves.

"Hey man, go ahead and climb on! I'll take you there."

Minos slowly went up to the stallion's side and gave him a gentle nod in appreciation.

"Thank you very much, my friend."

A similar awkward scene unfolded as the cyborg hauled himself onto the fairly sturdy pony, finding that his position felt surprisingly natural.

"Oh yeah," Hotshot thought to himself, sucking in a deep breath, "this is going to hurt in the morning."

The pegasi assumed their positions around the princesses and waited for the signal to take off. Both Bernard on Buzzkill and Minos on Hotshot were set to the back of the circle. Hotshot felt that now was an appropriate time to inform the men as to their riding etiquette, albeit in a less formal way than some of the other guards might have used.

"Okay guys, just try to stay clear of our wings, since if you bump those and/or we can't use them, it's bye-bye for you. I'm sure that won't happen though, and we can catch you...maybe, but I think you'll be fine. Relax, we'll be there before you know it!"

Minos and Bernard glanced back at the frilly appendages on their transportations' sides, uncomfortable with their light appearance and unusual shape, but they nodded and grunted in acknowledgement of the guard's warning all the same. Captain Broadlance took his own place a little closer to the princesses, being of a high enough rank that getting hit by a stray arrow out of the forest would constitute a hazardous situation. He gave a questioning look to Celestia and Luna, waiting for their signal to take off. They, in turn, nodded, willing him to make the announcement.

"ALL GUARDS FLY ON MY SIGNAL!"

Bernard nearly jumped out of his skin as all of the pegasi unsheathed their plumage with razor sharp precision and organization. The resounding metallic clank could probably be heard for miles. Broadlance gave one last bellow to his troops before they took off into the afternoon sky.

"3...2...1...GO!"

A great rush of wing-powered wind enveloped the group as the captain, the princesses, and the guard ponies jumped in synchronization as if they were performers in a ballet, and steadily flapping appendages maintained the tight circle around the co-rulers, made possible by years of arduous drills, as they soared higher than the two men in tow had ever been able to before. No slight amount of wonder could be seen on the cyborgs' faces as they gaped at the colors of nature, many feet below them.

Minos breathed in the cool air. It was incredibly devoid of the smoky smog that blanketed Arkarus like a shroud of ash, and refreshingly pure.

"Hotshot...was it?" he asked the pegasus, carrying him further from the ground.

"Yeah, what's goin' on, dude?" Hotshot replied to the creature's inquiry.

"Do the rest of you ponies get to enjoy such delicious, clean air as this?"

Hotshot seemed a little puzzled by the question. Didn't everypony else have oxygen where they came from?

"Uh...," he rested on the syllable, stunned for a moment, "yeah man! What, didn't you guys have some kind of air on your planet too?"

"Well, yes, but it was filled with chemicals and soot from our factories, so it wasn't clean like this at all, except inside the compound, where the oxygen was regulated mechanically."

The pegasus just nodded and shook his head confused, "Whatever you say. I just live in it, don't know much about it."

Minos let the conversation go as he inhaled once more. This wasn't the artificially maintained system that their factory used to ensure productivity among his people, this was a natural planetary wind that gave him an energy he wouldn't have felt possible. As he opened his eyes again, he bent down to feast his sight on the lush, green expanse below, flying by rapidly. It was certainly different from the miles of trash, waste, and charcoal streets surrounding the compound, vegetation having been long eradicated for multiple reasons. The grasses and plants billowed tranquilly in the soft breeze, looking like a green ocean. To the old cyborg, it was a wonderful picture.

Meanwhile, Bernard was shaking in his shoes at the terror of becoming a splat on a cliff-side or the ground below. As he peered down, his grip on his pegasus' neck tightened uncomfortably.

"Ergh...watch the neck, please..." Buzzkill croaked unceremoniously.

Bernard only slightly released his grip on his neck, going further down to his shoulders to bring him relief.

"S...sorry about that. It's just I've never been this high up before!"

Buzzkill may not have looked it, but he was marginally concerned by the panicked man.

"Calm down, it isn't that high up..."

The monotonous pony blew a sigh of defeat as Bernard's teeth were chattering and his limbs were shaking. As long as he didn't do something stupid, and knock around his wings, they'd be peachy keen, although Buzzkill just wanted to get the ordeal over with as soon as possible.

Minos turned his attention over to Bernard, who seemed to be gripping his ride for dear life. He switched back to their own language again as he commented.

"Having a good time over there, Bernard?"

Bernard shot his companion a sour look. How the hell could Minos be so calm about this whole mess? They were probably being taken to this...castle to be eaten, or subjected to another life of grueling labor.

"What's it look like, you bastard? I'm surprised you're so unfazed by a bunch of four-legged, winged creatures, taking us back to their headquarters only to do unknown things to us!"

Minos rolled his eyes at his younger friend's insurmountable reluctance.

"Lighten up, Bernard! I think this is going to be interesting, and smell the air around us, and look at the ground below us!"

"That's what I'm afraid of!" Bernard shot back.

"Oh you heard the ponies, we'll be fine!"

As Minos once again relaxed himself, currents blowing fiercely against his skin and hair, and drinking in the scenery of this foreign world, he had only one thought as they made their way closer to their arrival point.

"...We've stumbled into something unexplainable... This must assuredly be, what other cyborgs told me about so many times before, Heaven itself..."


	3. Chapter 2

A/N - A little more background here, a little more other stuff there...

* * *

As the ponies and their new cyborg acquaintances soared through the open sky, coming upon a stony white building with various color stripes in the near distance, Minos thought back to a time long ago, maybe almost one hundred years, remembering a typical day in the factory where conversations concerning the theories of this mythical land known as Heaven fermented in secrecy. Back then, they had been under different leadership. Emperor Jorgen, the first cyber organism in known history to attain the distinction for his sharp intellect and quick leadership actions, had been a slave to the last sentient computer for over nine centuries, and as such felt trace mutterings of compassion for his brethren. Therefore, the workloads and disciplinary measures, while grueling, swift, and merciless when the need arose, were substantially mitigated compared to what could have been.

It was this emperor who addressed Minos and the others by their chosen names, not their designations, as he did on that particular day. The brown-haired cyborg had been working on some part of the assembly lines when Jorgen's voice cut through the facility, silencing the workers into attention.

"ALRIGHT EVERYONE, THERE IS GOING TO BE A CHANGE TO THE LINE UP TODAY. MINOS, I NEED YOU ON WIRE COLOR CODING DUTY POST HASTE, AS ONE OF THE OLD CYBORGS ASSIGNED TO THAT DUTY JUST DIED. THERE YOU WILL STAY UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. THAT IS ALL."

As Minos obeyed the command, dropping his tools on the desk to his left and heading toward the cold, cramped cell, he sighed a breath of relief. Painting the computer wires to certain specifications was actually one of the least stressful jobs he could be assigned. All he had to do was make sure the markings he was looking for on the wires, sometimes notches or metal bits attached to the ends, coincided with the specific color he needed to make it. Then, he would use a handheld spray gun, long, cylindrical, the size of a pencil, to apply the right color of warm paint. This gun was attached to a large, box-like generator that heated the liquid, as the temperatures in this room could be well below freezing, as most of the facility was drearily cold, and it was necessary to allow the paint to dry almost instantly upon contact. After the procedure was finished, and whole containers of hundreds of wires were filled, they would then be taken to other parts of the facility for further implementation.

The cyborg unlatched the door to this very room, releasing a blast of frigid smoke and jumping back slightly at the invasive feeling. He quickly entered the cell and closed the door behind him with a great thud. As he took in the small space, tables of black wires in their own containers waited expectantly for a coat of color, he noticed a pair of familiar brown eyes staring up at him, the slam of the door rousing the other man from his heavy concentration on his work.

"Well, well, well," the brown-eyed cyborg muttered, heartily amused at the turn of events, "looks like Jorgen decided to go easy on you today."

"That he surely did." Minos agreed with a matter-of-fact tone. He didn't know whether or not to be grateful for being subjected to the lively company of this sharp-tongued egotist. He definitely stirred the pot when it came to facility politics, a trait Minos shared with the richly red-haired cyborg, but his conniving nature didn't sit well with the younger man. He walked up to a long table, standing beside his new cellmate for a time, and started his work, making talk both big and small with him.

"So, Modovix," Minos addressed his senior, "how many cyborgs have you coaxed into fighting with one another THIS week?"

Modovix set to his own duties, painting the blue and red wires while Minos did the green and yellow ones, speaking with his green-eyed fellow all the while with a subdued, sinister smirk.

"Why Minos, I find it rather offensive that you would be so quick to judge," sarcasm dripped from the small fangs in his mouth, "I am merely preparing our brothers and sisters for the inevitable battle at hand..."

As the two efficiently sprayed and organized the different strands of rubber coated metal, Minos' mouth twisted into a barely confused frown.

"With the way I see your nose wedged firmly in the behinds of our superiors, I'm surprised you still plot behind their backs to cause an uprising."

Modovix was highly amused by Minos' irony, laughing quietly but with purpose. "Oh, my young, foolish friend, you obviously do not see the merit in gaining the trust of our captors. It is one of the oldest war strategies, and if performed correctly can wreak havoc untold on one's enemies."

To that statement, Minos glanced pointedly toward his aggressive companion for only a second. Resuming his focus on his work once more, air was rapidly expelled from his lungs.

"Oh don't give me that sigh," Modovix chided him, "...you cannot expect the world to change for you by simple, peaceful measures alone, if at all. You have lived on this planet for 261 years, Minos, there is no excuse for being naive anymore."

Silently the two toiled away at coating the wires, filling containers, setting them on the end to be taken by another group of workers, and taking more empty storage devices to fill them to capacity. Soon, Minos broke the quiet.

"Modovix?"

The old cyborg kept his eyes on his work, "Yeah, what now?"

"...What is this place the others keep talking about...Heaven...I think is what they call it?"

Modovix sneered at the question. In all of his 633 years on this desolate planet, he had never heard something so infuriatingly juvenile.

"...Why must you and those youngsters you hang out with constantly busy yourselves with pipe dreams that will never be realized?"

Minos shrugged the question off, "They...seem to think that there is some kind of...life after the Regulatory Boxes deactivate, like a second one. Would it be better than this one, or could it possibly be even worse?"

The other cyborg wasn't incredibly ill-tempered most of the time, but hearing Minos talk about a "second life", and what's more, asking if it is better or worse, was starting to annoy him.

"Look Minos, there is only one life we need be concerned about at the present time and that is the one in which we live now. Concepts like "Heaven" are only created to give cyber organisms a sense of greater purpose or alleviate the torture we go through every minute of our lives, both of which are delusions. We are created, we work constantly, and somewhere along the way we deactivate for good, that's it."

The younger of the two put down his next wire, facing Modovix with his entire body, trying to further his point.

"...but assuming this place really does exist, it would be imperative for us to explore the possibility! We could be ignoring something very important!"

The other hardly acknowledged his presence or position as he expeditiously finished wire after wire. He did, however, use his peripheral vision to glance at his junior once.

"You know, Minos, if Jorgen or his henchmen see that you're shirking your duties, one of these days you're going to get reprogrammed..."

Minos picked up his tools and wire and got back to work, opting to not tempt fate today, as with the security devices that showed the emperor and his authorities everything in the room, even Jorgen would not hesitate to punish him for not doing his labors.

"What have you heard about this place, Modovix? I'm very curious."

Modovix, inversely to the scene a few minutes ago, now regretted the company of this unabashedly knowledge-hungry pile of flesh next to him. He hadn't been told much about it, mostly because he would rather stick to his work and his master plans instead of perusing the think tanks of other cyborgs for philosophical bullshit. Making the task at hand his primary focus, and Minos' question second, he started to tell Minos what he could remember, if only to shut him up.

"...A lot of cyborgs talk about Heaven as being some mythical other-world, a different level of consciousness. Some say it can be found when one dies, others say it exists parallel to Arkarus in another dimension entirely, and can only be accessed by the dead. Supposedly, there are many wonderful things there that you can't find here: pure, clean air, more so than even our facility can make it, vibrant flora and fauna that are barely rumored to have existed on Arkarus in the infinite past, and a host of friendly creatures wait to bring you to an eternally blissful paradise."

Modovix sneered and blew out a disgusting noise from his mouth in ridicule of the stupidity that he relayed to his work-mate.

"Happy now, Minos? There's your Heaven for you. A bunch of moronic trash made up by wusses if you ask me."

As the older cyborg grumbled to himself about the things cyber organisms come up with when they're desperate, Minos took the insincere speech to heart. That actually didn't sound like such a bad place at all if it really existed. Of course, unfortunately, he would have to wait another six centuries or more in order to witness it, but it sounded so nice all the same.

* * *

Minos was broken out of his flashback by his pegasus guard ride who looked back at him wearily.

"Uh...we're here dude. Feel free to jump off at any time..." Hotshot gave Minos a light chuckle at his apparent space out.

Indeed, it seemed like the ground was right under their hooves and his feet. He quickly made his way off of the surprisingly strong pony, thanking him for his help.

"You have my thanks for the transportation, friend."

Hotshot threw a wing up, making a dismissive gesture with it to show his modesty, "No problem man, it was nothin'!"

Minos turned to his right, making sure that the other cyborg was also on the ground with them. Sure enough, Bernard was gripping the furry coat of Buzzkill's body like it was some kind of security blanket, shaking like a leaf in a breeze, much to the pony's displeasure.

"We're on the ground now you know..." Buzzkill elicited a grating drone, wanting this creature off of his back as soon as possible. The pegasus shifted both of his left legs down to unbalance Bernard, making him slide off of his side, landing on his back on the grassy terrain.

"...Thank you," Bernard stuttered, the height of their ascent having slightly traumatized the poor cyborg.

Minos stepped over to his disheveled companion, offering a hand up and heckling him in their native tongue for being so dramatic, "Come off it Bernard, it wasn't all that bad. You don't see me getting scared over nothing."

Bernard would've batted the older man's hand away for that quip if he wasn't so muddled. Instead, he grabbed the appendage, picking himself up as Minos assisted him. Once he was righted again, Bernard made an unamused face that showed Minos his disdain. The brown-haired cyborg ignored the dirty look, facing their hostesses who had waited patiently for them to dismount and walk over to them for further guidance.

"I hope the ride was a pleasant one, my good sirs," Celestia addressed them as they came over.

Bernard gave off a tiny snort, "Pleasant, my a..."

Minos roughly smacked his hand over the impudent mouth, fearfully glaring at its owner. Bernard rolled his eyes, submitting to acting with more civility, though he was just being honest.

"It was, Princess," Minos turned back and humbly drawled, "I must say, this...palace of yours is quite marvelous," he raised a hand toward the towering spires in front of them, "there were no buildings this...ornate on Arkarus."

As the wondering man looked up, words could not describe the sight. The yellow-orange afternoon sunlight cast haunting, beautiful shadows over the smooth, alabaster marble of its exterior, polished to a shining glaze. The columns, stretching as high as the eye could focus, and walls, protectively embracing the structure, were sleek and meticulously crafted, as if a divine being had swooped their hand over them. The tops of said columns, fashioned in what some may call a classical Arabic style, were vibrantly painted in regal golds, purples, and soft, bright tones, beacons of warm invitation to all who would like to visit the castle or its fair city of Canterlot.

"Well thank you, Minos," Princess Celestia was grateful for the compliment, "the ponies who built this castle did work very hard to make it representative of all of Equestria, as I hope is sufficiently conveyed."

"Oh I do not doubt that, Princess," his gaze was still drawn to the enchanting architecture. His only point of reference for buildings in general had been the rectangular shaped facility he worked in, which was much for efficiency, but not for artistry, as this palace in front of him had demonstrated.

"It sure is..." Bernard fished for the right word as he too scaled the walls with his eyes, "...huge..." He never really was one for appreciating craftsmanship.

"Well then," Princess Luna, who had been standing by Celestia's side the entire time gestured to the cyber organisms, "let us be off to your accommodations inside."

Minos' face steadily took on a confused countenance, unknowing if he had heard Princess Luna correctly. "Inside of this building...Princess?"

The blue mare turned to them again as she had been halfway to the castle doors by now, eager to get some rest before the nightly duties, "Of course! Is there some sort of issue with that?"

The cyborgs took note of the partial annoyance in Luna's question and body language. Not wanting to imply anything wrong, Minos shook his head and assured her that wasn't the case. Bernard just stood back for a minute, letting Minos dig himself out of whatever trouble he was in.

"No no," Minos waved his hands in surrender, "I'm just honored that we will be sharing the palace with the rulers of Equestria is all, I would think a separate compound would've been built for non-royalty."

Celestia gave Luna a humorously mystified glance, one that was shared with the night princess as she continued with a brow raised, "...Many ponies share this palace with us, servants, guards, it is not just a fortress that we hoard for ourselves. We have guests here all of the time, so it is no real trouble, as long as you are courteous and not disruptive to the duties being performed by others."

The older cyborg nodded his understanding, "Oh, of course, we will not impede or harm anyone while we are here, right Bernard?"

The blue-eyed man shifted his gaze between everyone as he spoke, gradually conceding to Minos' inescapable suggestion. "As long as we are not going to be enslaved or devoured, I guess there wouldn't be a reason to..."

Celestia chimed her approval, "Excellent! Now, we must show you to your room right away so that my sister and I can get back to the business of the country," she was hurriedly explaining, "Make yourselves at home, and we shall be in to check up on you in a while."

With a small band of royal guards flanking the two princesses, and Celestia making a motion with her wing telling the cyborgs to follow her, Minos and Bernard stole an apprehensive look to one another as they did as Celestia asked. They strode quietly through the doors, per the guards' instruction, and curiously drummed over what they would possibly learn about these "ponies" next.

* * *

Minos and Bernard had been left to their own devices for a while after they were shown to the guest room that they would be temporarily housed in. The castle staff had noted that they were some of the easiest guests to accommodate for. For one thing, they had no luggage, or any other personal belongings, which as suspicious as that had made some, the bellhops were understandably pleased. As a snack or drink had been offered to them, seeing as most dignitaries or visitors would be famished after a long journey, the servants were met with an incredibly odd question from Bernard:

"Snack? Drink? What are these things?"

They decided not to push the offer, as it was mostly a simple formality to ask. They took the weird question as a "no" and moved onto other duties after making sure the two were comfortable and attended to properly.

Once the doors had been shut behind them, the cyber organisms took in the surrounding room. Having suspected a white-washed, cramped dungeon, devoid of accessories or furniture, they were surprised to find that the room was very colorful, and lavishly furnished. A light forest-green coated the walls, a tad dark, but it reflected the sunlight from a grand, nearby window quite melodiously. A monumental king-sized bed with white blankets and sheets sat in the middle of the spacious, but cozy, area. Around the room were wooden cabinets for storage of personal belongings, and even a door to a small walk-in closet for even more space. There was also a large book shelf in a corner with many volumes, mostly encyclopedias, but an occasional light fiction book could be found wedged into a slot.

One such fiction book had been taken down by Bernard and opened, not having much else to do at the time, "Hey, Minos, come over here!" he stood stupefied as he casually flipped through the pages with no understanding of his actions, "This is freaky, they have these weird little symbols inside of this purple, weighty, box-like thing!"

The older man heeded the call, walking over from his inspection of the peculiar bedding, and drawing his attention to whatever Bernard was pointing at.

"Well I'll be," he mused, slightly amazed at the squiggly, unreadable characters, "It's almost like our computer boards on Arkarus. Looks like they write down all of their messages and announcements in here, don't they?"

Of course, the two had never seen a fiction book before; stories recounting tales of action, love, and personal achievement, because language, and their own writing system, were only a means of communication, used to control, persuade, and warn. Pleasure writing, let alone reading, were non-existent in a world of industrial and technical slavery.

The initial shock was entertaining at best, but after a minute or so, the two found themselves putting the book back and having not a thing to do. As Minos wandered and looked around the room, taking in as much information as possible, Bernard crossed his arms in anxiousness, not really liking the fact that they were so...free now.

"So..." he started, "what do we do now while we're waiting for the princesses?"

"You know something," Minos turned around at the inquiry, the same type of thought running through his own mind, "I'm starting to wonder that as well. We were always so frantically busy before, whether working, or scheming against the emperor. Now, there just isn't...anything to do." He continued to scan their quarters as he mumbled, "I guess Heaven might have its ups and downs too..."

Bernard scoffed at the last thought, "Heaven? You have to be joking, Minos. We aren't even sure what's going to happen to us at this point. We aren't dead, we're not exactly SAFE here either. Whatever we were told about Heaven, if it even exists, this is not it."

"But..." Minos was thoroughly convinced otherwise, "this has to be it!" he closed the distance between him and Bernard and threw his hands on his shoulders, "Xargon executed us, not slapped us on the wrist! It sent us out into space knowing exactly what we were in for, and that was nothing short of a swift death, if not eternal peril! We're in another dimension, possibly another level of conscious thought! The flora, the fauna, the invitation to a wonderful place from these "ponies", it all points to every prerequisite I've ever heard for being in Heaven!"

Bernard peeled the cyborg's hands off of his shoulders dismissively, "Well, I don't really care what you think about this place, Minos. All I know is that I'm not going to allow myself to go back to that shitty life I had before. If these "ponies" want to be nice, and stay the fuck out of my way, then fine, to each his own, but otherwise things are going to be very difficult between me and them if they try anything funny."

"...I would expect as much." Minos gave up on the conversation, knowing that Bernard wasn't exactly the kind of cyborg to think much about anything but himself, though it was understandable considering that most of their kind were not much more than frightened, violent opportunists who felt like the world had screwed them over. To strive for something more profound, as Minos tried his best, was not a sentiment the long-haired man shared with him.

Soon enough, after the talk had died down, Bernard felt himself becoming desperate to have something to busy himself with, "ARGH, I'm so BORED!"

As the plush, king-sized bed was behind him at the time, Bernard didn't feel like standing up anymore, and took a chance on trying to rest his tired legs, falling backward onto the mattress. His eyes shot open as he let the insane comfort wash over him. The most noticeable difference from this bed and any other he had slept on was that this was not simply a steel frame, the kinds he had tried, with a lot of stress, to enjoy a few hours of sleep on before someone would come in and kick him back up into his work for the day. There was no tension at all in his body as he sank into the feathery material, almost slipping into a coma as hundreds of years of discomfort were alleviated in one swoop.

"By the emperor, Minos, come feel this bed! I'm practically being spirited away from the moment I laid down!"

"Oh really? Let's test this out then, shall we?"

Minos went over to the other side of the large mattress and slowly pushed himself down into the pillowy texture. His own face showed his pleasant amazement, seeming to melt the rest of the way down until his was spread out over it. A tired, contented groan escaped his lips as his back was cushioned by the impossibly soft bedding.

"...Incredible...I feel like I could lay here for centuries! How about you, Bernard?"

The younger cyborg was too elated and exhausted to show any feedback to his companion, preferring to close his eyes and snore loudly while the other commented drowsily himself.

"Heh...well, I guess it couldn't hurt to take a little nap..."

Minos shifted until he was comfortable on the bed, which took less than a second as any position on this mattress would've been more than sufficient. With a final, deep breath, he started to close his eyes into a nice, refreshing...

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

"DAMMIT!" Bernard blurted as whatever ass-hole on the other side of the door had just woken him from what he could call no less than sheer ecstasy. He rolled off of the bed with a thump, having lost all sense of self in the muscle-relaxing softness.

Minos' own eyelids popped open at the knock irritably, though he was much less vocal about it. With determined will-power, he rose from his position on the bed, his body in stiff rebellion to the need to answer the door, craving rest.

"One moment," he shouted to the other side while he and Bernard picked themselves up and made their way over to the door, both ready to strangle whoever had disturbed their greatest near-slumber in history. Opening the door slowly, Minos was greeted by another one of those uniform-looking pegasi, a royal guard, if he had remembered correctly.

"Your presences are requested for dinner by Princesses Celestia and Luna, please come with me if you two are ready."

"Dinner?" Minos and Bernard shot each other the thousandth look today, both knowing that the other was thinking the same thing, "What the heck is that?"

"Thank you, kind guardsman. Please, lead the way." Minos gave him a polite gesture, to which the satisfied guard simply turned and slowly trotted down the walkway toward the banquet hall.

Whatever this "dinner" was, the two cyber organisms knew they would have a lot of questions to ask about it. They followed the guard close behind, scanning the elaborate walkway up and down. There were portraits, most likely of the royal family, and some of the nobility that had gained honorable titles and status throughout their long years of service to the crown. What surrounded them was befitting of that distinction, as many candle-lights danced steadily on the walls, showering light over the regal purple paint they were coated in. There were stylish wood carvings etched into the lower portions of the walls depicting natural themes and scenic overlays. Very complimentary to the revered images of heroes, lords, and ladies past, if one had an eye for such endeavor.

It was not too far into the procession, both cyborgs feasting their eyes on the elaborate scenes, that their guard had stopped in front of a pair of large double doors.

"Please enter...gentlemen?... The princesses wish to speak with you."

"We appreciate your guidance, sir," Minos respectfully bowed, somewhat unaware of the varied nuances of courtly conduct they had watched other ponies give each other.

"Yeah...uh...thanks..." Bernard, however, had no knowledge, or intention, of trying to show the same type of courtesy as he sputtered and nervously shifted around on his feet.

The guard made his way back through the seemingly endless maze of corridors, leaving Minos and Bernard to open the banquet hall doors, clueless as to what was going on around here. Within were the two princesses, sharing a lovely meal which seemed to be large enough for four ponies/people to have a good portion. They had dropped what they were doing for the moment when they heard the double doors opening. Celestia smiled warmly as the two confused beings stepped in with trepidation, gazes spreading over every inch of the hall curiously. Luna, also sitting at the table by her sister, put on a slight, polite smile.

"Welcome, our two-legged friends," Celestia called to them on the other side of the hall, "we have much to discuss."


End file.
